2 Snakes Today

[+markp99]

My son and I came across TWO snakes today while walking along a wooded trail to perform a little cache maintenance. This is the first time we've encountered snakes while geocaching.

 

I have no idea what kind of snkaes these were, but we were sure to give them plenty of room.

 

1. Black with dark grey stripes, about 4 - 5ft long, ~1.5 - 2 inches in diameter at the widest. This guy was pretty docile and did not move too fast. He was among leaves in a densly wooded area. I stomped on the ground to get him to "move along" before my dog spotted him.

 

2. Yellow with brown stripes, ~2ft long, 3/4 inch diameter, lying in the open on a dirt path in the sunshine. As we approached this guy he startled and assumed a coiled position in a flash. I assumed this was probably NOT a good sign and we skeedaddled down along the path. The dog was curious about this fast mover, but I managed to pull him along before he could get a bead on him.

 

So, can anyone point me to a good/pictoral reference for common snakes in NH / New England? I poked around Google without much luck.

 

I am just slightly spooked by this. I just switched from my leather hiking boots to a low-cut summer walking shoe, which seems like they would expose my ankles to possible snake bites. Up to now I was primarilly concerned with ticks and mosquitos.

 

Thanks for any pointers!

Edited June 12, 2006 by markp99

[+clearpath]

The worst snakes wear suits and carry briefcases ...

Edited June 12, 2006 by clearpath

[1zymurgist]

My son and I came across TWO snakes today while walking along a wooded trail to perform a little cache maintenance. This is the first time we've encountered snakes while geocaching.

 

I have no idea what kind of snkaes these were, but we were sure to give them plenty of room.

 

1. Black with dark grey stripes, about 4 - 5ft long, ~1.5 - 2 inches in diameter at the widest. This guy was pretty docile and did not move too fast. He was among leaves in a densly wooded area. I stomped on the ground to get him to "move along" before my dog spotted him.

 

2. Yellow with brown stripes, ~2ft long, 3/4 inch diameter, lying in the open on a dirt path in the sunshine. As we approached this guy he startled and assumed a coiled position in a flash. I assumed this was probably NOT a good sign and we skeedaddled down along the path. The dog was curious about this fast mover, but I managed to pull him along before he could get a bead on him.

 

So, can anyone point me to a good/pictoral reference for common snakes in NH / New England? I poked around Google without much luck.

 

I am just slightly spooked by this. I just switched from my leather hiking boots to a low-cut summer walking shoe, which seems like they would expose my ankles to possible snake bites. Up to now I was primarilly concerned with ticks and mosquitos.

 

Thanks for any pointers!

[+gof1]

I am no expert but when in doubt leave it be.

This link may help.NH Snakes

[+Prime Suspect]

My son and I came across TWO snakes today while walking along a wooded trail to perform a little cache maintenance.

It could have been much worse. You could have found them.... ON A PLANE!

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

As we approached this guy he startled and assumed a coiled position in a flash. I assumed this was probably NOT a good sign and we skeedaddled down along the path.

 

Rofl! This comment had me rolling with laughter. Its safe to assume that isnt a good sign lol.

 

(Cant help you with NH snakes. I know coral and rattlesnakes versus non poisonous snakes. Ok, to be honest, Im not sure of the difference between coral and its non poisonous look alike. Spotting snake = getting out quickly, not analyzing it for identification purposes.)

[+Team Teuton]

Snakes make me run into trees.

[+Mary&Dave]

There's no need to be spooked or concerned about venomous snakes in New Hampshire (or anywhere else in New England). Two species of rattlesnake exist, but they're both on the endangered list.

 

Here are a few photo reference sites (not for NH, but not that far off):

http://sandgatevermont.com/snakes.html

http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/index.html

[+Mary&Dave]

Two species of rattlesnake exist.

 

Oops, correction. There is just one species of rattlesnake, and there are estimated to be fewer than 25 remaining in the entire state.

 

Read more about the Timber Rattlesnake.

[+Team JSAM]

The worst snakes wear suits and carry briefcases ...

 

Aint that the truth!

[+briansnat]

There's no need to be spooked or concerned about venomous snakes in New Hampshire (or anywhere else in New England). Two species of rattlesnake exist, but they're both on the endangered list.

 

Here are a few photo reference sites (not for NH, but not that far off):

http://sandgatevermont.com/snakes.html

http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/index.html

 

That doesn't mean much. Rattlesnakes are on the endangered list in NJ, but in some areas they are pretty common.

[+markp99]

Thanks for the references.

 

Snake #1:

http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/bracer.html http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/brat.html

 

Snake #1 does not quite match the descriptions I read (nearest: Black Rat Snake and the Black Racer). The description for a Blace Racer mentions his speed, but this guy was downright mellow. So, it could have been the Black Rat Snake, but these are endagered and supposedly rare. Could have been him.

 

Snake #2:

http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/cgarter.html

 

Gartersnake: Interesting point - they will coil to make themselves look larger. They will also strike and bite. This is just what this snake did, minus the bite part, but he sure looked ready to strike.

[+Miragee]

Last Saturday, we had two snake encounters also. The first one had a very light rattle sound we almost didn't notice. Once we finally realized it might be a rattlesnake, we thought it was a small one.

 

WRONG

 

It was a large snake with a damaged rattle:

 

 

The second snake of the day was a smaller one with beautiful markings. It was acting as the cache guardian.

 

[+Team Cotati]

Oh it could have even been worse than that!!! You could have been on a submarine and opened one of the torpedo tubes to have a look-see and there could have been 76 cobra's in there and they all could have jumped out!!! Yikes!!! Can you imagine the scrambling and scurrying around in THAT situation? No thanks!! I never did much like submarines any ways, now I have even less reason to ever visit one.

[Web-Footed Sand Eater]

Rattlesnakes generally are quite shy and will do what they can to get away from humans. They probably are less desirous of being near us than we are of being near them. They probably agree with the "worst snakes are those in suits" comment.

 

Don't mess with any rattlesnakes, of course, but do note that bites from young snakes can be more dangerous than bites from adults: the kids haven't learned to control the amount of venom they inject. New-borns (they are born live--not hatched) can do as much damage as adults.

 

A NPS serpent expert I know tells me that most bites from rattlesnakes or copperheads are the result of a mixture of alcohol and testosterone.

 

This may not allay any fears, but very few people are bitten by poisonous snakes, and few of those die.

 

If you want to worry about something, ticks and some other insects are more of a threat.

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

This may not allay any fears, but very few people are bitten by poisonous snakes, and few of those die.

 

Please dont interpret this to mean you dont need to seek medical treatment.

[+Mary&Dave]

The second snake of the day was a smaller one with beautiful markings. It was acting as the cache guardian.

 

 

Wow!! That's a great picture. Did ya DNF the cache?

 

The only time I dared to get that close to a rattlesnake was this one. I sat under a bush to eat lunch, and when I got up to leave, I saw this big guy sleeping next to me -- about 4 feet from my toes! He apparently didn't mind that I was there.

 

[+Faith the Aquariaqueen]

Miragee,

 

Did you log it as a find? I would have, especially since I could prove I found it via picture. I know I wouldn't be back unless there was 12" of snow on the ground.

[+Colorado Cacher]

You will get used to them, as I have rattlesnakes here.

[+Tsmola]

Snakes are cool! I always enjoy coming across them. I've been bitten on the cache hunt before actually. It was a harmless Garter on a cache ironically named Snake in the Grass I've posted the link in the forums a few times when this topic comes up. Here's a photo I took recently while working on a multi, I felt very fortunate this snake posed long enough for the great photos I got. This is another harmless Garter like the one I was bitten by.

 

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?II...fb&LID=15599523

 

I've never had much of a fear of snakes, I've also been bitten by a Ball Python before, even so I still pick up the occassional garter snake for fun. Of course if I don't recognize the species, leave it be. There's only one posionus snake in my area and I have yet to run across it or know anyone who has.

[Web-Footed Sand Eater]

"Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking" say of my post, "Please dont interpret this to mean you dont need to seek medical treatment."

 

Absolutely! Thanks for adding that.

[+Miragee]

Miragee,

 

Did you log it as a find? I would have, especially since I could prove I found it via picture. I know I wouldn't be back unless there was 12" of snow on the ground.

 

It isn't a find unless the logbook is signed.

 

Actually, I had signed the logbook for that cache quite a while ago, but the guy I was caching with hadn't. So, we made the arduous trip to a cache of mine in order to retrieve the container, since I was going to have to archive it.

 

When we finally got back, the snake was gone, so using my walking stick, we were able to very, very carefully get the container out of its hiding place so he could sign the logbook.

[+Poidawg]

Snakes make me run into trees.

I can not get this visual out of my head....thank you, you made my day